Folding seat for carriages



(No Model.)

H. A. MOYBR. FOLDING SEAT FOR GARRIAGES.

No. 490,080. Patented Jan. 17, 1893.

INVENTOR.

404 dmm ATTORNEYS.

UNiTED STATES PATENT FFEQE.

HARVEY A. MOYER, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

FOLDING SEAT FOR GARRIAGES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 490,080, dated January 17, 1893.

Application filed October 19,1892. Serial No. 449,336. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY A. Movnn, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Folding Seats for Carriages, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to the class of carriageseats which are hinged to swing in a veriical plane so as to afford ready access to another seat at the rear of the swinging seat.

The object of my present invention is to render the entire front seat capable of being thrown into a position to form a wide and convenient passage for persons from the front portion of the body to the rear portion thereof, and also render said seat self-sustaining in said position. And to that end the invention consists essentially in the combination with the carriage-body, of a laterally swinging prop pivoted to the body in proximity to one side thereof, and the seat hinged at one end to said prop to swing with its opposite end vertically to and from its support thereat all as hereinafter more fully described and specifically set forth in the claims.

In the annexed drawings Figure 1 is aside view of a carriage requiring a front seat adapted to be placed in the aforesaid position for affording convenient access to the rear seat, Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken immediately in front of the front seat which is in its normal position, Fig. 3 shows the same in its raised position for forming a wide passage to the rear seat or rear portion of the body, Fig. 4 is a view of that end of the seat which is adapted to be raised from its support and to allow the seat to be placed in a vertical position.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

13* denotes the body of the carriage, -C the front seat thereof, and D- the back of said seat, which back is hinged to fold over upon the seat.

In carriages of the class herein illustrated it is necessary to make the front seat removable or capable of being folded in order to permit access for persons to the rear seat, and for this purpose the front seat has usually been divided transversely at or near the center, and one-half adapted to fold over onto the other half. Such a construction however, affords only a narrow and inconvenient passage from the front portion of the body to the rear seat or rear portion of the body, and also renders the front seat uncomfortable to the person occupying said seat, owing to the crease across the seat at the joint thereof. To obviate this defect I maintain the front seat intact and hinge it at one end to its support which is located in proximity to the adjacent side of the body. For said support of the seat I prefer to employ the prop -P which is hinged at its foot to the bottom of the interior of the body so as to allow said prop to swing laterally toward and from the side of the body, and to the top of said prop is hinged the adjacent end of the seat G- which is thus adapted to be swung into a vertical position, as represented in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The lateral motion of the prop carries the upper end thereof away from the side of the body sufficient to allow the end of the seat to enter between the prop and side of the body and, by standing close to the latter, a passage of maximum Width is obtained from the front to the rear of the interior of the body. In order to render the said seat self-sustaining in its vertical position, I form the prop with the inward offset a terminating at its base with the foot -a' by which the prop rests upon the bottom of the interior of the body when said prop'is erected as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The prop standing with its top slightly inclined away from the adjacent side of the body and carrying the entire weight of the erected seat becomes locked in said position. The opposite end of the seat has secured to it a stout metal plate -Z)- provided with a notch -b'- by which it rests upon a stud --c* projecting from the inner side of the body. In raising the seat to its vertical position the back D has to be folded down upon the seat -O, then the free end of the seat has to be lifted to liberate itfrom the stud cand then the seat has to be drawn away from the opposite side of the body until arrested by the feet --a of the prop -P- coming in contact with the bottom of the interior of the body, the seat can then be swung into its vertical position as hereinbefore described.

offset a, and foot a-, and the seat C- hinged to the upper end of the prop and adapted to swing with its opposite end in a Vertical plane to and from its support on the body as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 12th day of October,

I HARVEY A. MOYER. [L. s.] Witnesses:

R. SHARP, J. J. LAASS. 

